The France international believes shrewd summer business can make the difference as the Gunners look to land their first Premier League title since 2004 next season
Laurent Koscielny feels Arsenal’s summer recruitment will be key to them mounting a sustained Premier League title challenge next season.
The Gunners finished as a runners-up this season but a whopping 10 points behind shock champions Leicester City.
Koscielny concedes it was another season of frustration for Arsenal but the France international is confident that they can end their 15-year wait for the title with some shrewd acquisitions.
“Yes it’s a disappointment. We finished second, but if you look at the whole season, we can have regrets,” he told Omnisport.
“I think this year we had the means to compete with the other teams to win this title. But our results were inconsistent, especially in February and March, when we won very few games, and we took very few points.
“It was tough, but we have to keep the positive from this season to learn from it, and start a nice season next year, with probably some new players that will allow us to reach another level and have more consistent results.”
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Arsenal have flew out of the blocks in their attempts to build a side capable of going one step further, bringing in Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach in a deal worth up to £33.1m.
The north Londoners are also keen to lure Leicester’s Jamie Vardy to the Emirates Stadium after triggering the £20m release clause in his contract, Goal can confirm.
Arsenal’s failure to win a major trophy in 2015-16 has caused a section of fanbase to call for manager Arsene Wenger to leave, but Koscielny has defended his compatriot, insisting he is “still the man for the job.”
“The boss has seen it all, he’s been for many years at the club. I think we owe him a lot,” Koscielny said.
“At least, I owe him very much, I have a lot of respect for the coach, but as well for the man. He’s a very nice guy. I understand the frustration of the fans because we did not win the title for a long time, but I think that Arsene did some amazing things in this club.
“He helped it grow, now we have a beautiful stadium, our facilities are unbelievable…it’s up to us, the players, to do what’s necessary on the pitch to win these titles.
“But I think that Arsene is a very good coach, and he’s still the man for the job.”